Covered wire



1963 w. L. CHALFIN ETAL 3,114,374

COVERED WIRE 1mm Aug. 1. 1960 FIG.1

FIG.4

F|G.5 l 12 INVENTORS William L. Chalfin BY Ronald Boser ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent 3,114,374 COVERED WIRE William L. Chalfin, Brooklyn, andRonald Boser, Huntington, N.Y., assignors to Regina Enterprises, Inc.,New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 1, 1960, Ser. No.46,702 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-465) The present invention relates to acovered wire and more particularly to a covered wire adapted for use ina brassiere stay.

A curved stay is commonly used at the bottom of the breast cup ofbrassieres especially of the strapless variety, and comprises a coveredwire. The stay must offer support yet have suflicient lateralflexibility for comfort. In addition, provision should be made toprevent the wire from cutting through its covering and into the body,particularly at its free ends. In the usual stay on the market today,the wire has been swaged at each end to blunt its tips and therebyprevent its cutting through its covering. The swaging operation iscostly and adds considerably to the expense of the brassiere stay.Generally, the wire is also padded along its length for added protectionagainst cutting into the body.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a covered wire whichwill overcome the foregoing and other difi'iculties.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a covered wirewhich will not require the costly swaging operation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a paddedwire adapted to comprise a comfortable brassiere stay.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a brassierestay which is adapted for stitching directly to a garment.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description and drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, partially broken away, of the covered wire of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an edge view of the brassiere stay of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken on the line 33 in FIG.1 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an uncovered wire whenpadded according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a modified covered wirebrassiere stay; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showingthe application of a cloth cover.

Referring to the drawing, a wire 10 which has a uniform cross-sectionalong its entire length and which has been curved and cut by machine isinserted in a plastic tubing 12. The tubing 12 may be made of nylon orpolypropylene. The extremities 14 of the plastic tubing 12 extend beyondeach end of the wire, for example about one-half inch, and are crimpedby heat and pressure to enclose the said wire 10 thereby covering therough ends thereof. Flattened tubing or wire, or both, may be used foradditional resistance to bending of the wire from its desired shape.Such covered wire cannot be subjected to 3,114,374 Patented Dec. 17,1963 rust or deterioration during washing of the brassiere into which itis inserted.

A padding 16 is then applied around the plastic tubing 12, and ispreferably cemented in place by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive.It has been found that a padding having a semi-circular cross-section ismost desirable, and is applied to the garment so that the curved side ofthe padding 16 will face the body. The padding 16 extends beyond eachextremity 14 of the tubing 12, for example about one-half inch. Ifdesired, the padding may be tapered at its ends to form a soft tip whichcan be sewn through when the stay is stitched to the garment. A paddingof a foamed material such as a polyurethane foam or foam rubber issatisfactory.

The brassiere stay is now ready to be inserted in the garment. The staymay be sewn by double-needle stitching along each edge of the padding 16or at the ends thereof directly to the garment or may be encased in acloth cover 17 at the same time it is being sewn.

It should be added that the semi-circular padding 16 may be used over anuncovered wire but it is not as desirable to do so because there wouldbe less protection aiforded against the wire ends, and the wire, per se.In this case, too, the padding 16 would extend beyond each end of thewire where it may be tapered as described above.

Referring to FIG. 5, the wire stay shown in cross-section is very muchlike the stay of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, except that the wire 10' is insertedin an oval-shaped plastic tubing 12' and the padding 16' is lower inheight, or flatter, than the forms shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The stay maybe sewn by double-needle stitching either through the padding 16' or theplastic tubing 12' along each side of the wire 10' directly to thegarment.

It may be seen, then, that the present invention provides a covered wiresuitable for use as a brassiere stay. The covered wire will give thecomfortable support needed and may be further improved by application ofthe novel padding herein described. Furthermore, the padded brassierestay may be sewn directly into a garment.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the invention, itwill be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise withoutdeparting from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A brassiere stay comprising a curved wire, a plastic tubingcompletely encasing said wire, the extremities of said tubing extendingbeyond each end of said wire and being crimped to enclose said wire, anda foam padding having a semi-circular cross-section and securedcompletely around the entire length of said tubing.

2. A brassiere stay comprising a curved wire, a plastic tubingcompletely encasing said wire, the extremities of said tubing extendingbeyond each end of said wire and being crimped to enclose said wire, anda foam padding having a semi-circular cross-section and securedcompletely around the entire length of said tubing, said paddingextending beyond each extremity of said tubing.

3. A brassiere stay comprising a curved wire, a plastic tubingcompletely encasing said wire, the extremities of said tubing extendingbeyond each end of said wire, and a polyurethane foam padding having asemi-circular cross- 3 4 section and secured by pressure-sensitiveadhesive com- Cover may be sewn in place by stitching along each edgepletely around the entire length of said tubing, said padof the saidpadding. ding extending beyond each extremity of said tubing. ReferencesCited in the file of this patent 4. A brassiere stay comprising a curvedwire, a plastic tubing completely encasing said wire, the extremities of5 UNITED STATES PATENTS said tubing extending beyond each end of saidwire and 2,483,273 Gluckin Sept. 27, 1949 being crirnped by heat andpressure to enclose said wire, 2,553,825 Langs May 22, 1951 a foampadding having a semi-circular cross-section and 2,731,640 Garson Jan.24, 1956 secured completely around the entire length of said tubing,2,764,761 Rosenthal et al. Oct. 2, 1956 and a cloth cover encasing saidpadding whereby the 10 2,852,781 Ganser Sept. 23, 1958 brassiere staymay be applied to a garment and the cloth 2,923,300 Ots Feb. 2, 1960

1. A BRASSIERE STAY COMPRISING A CURVED WIRE, A PLASTIC TUBINGCOMPLETELY ENCASING SAID WIRE, THE EXTREMITIES OF SAID TUBING EXTENDINGBEYOND EACH END OF SAID WIRE AND BEING CRIMPED TO ENCLOSE SAID WIRE, ANDA FOAM PADDING HAVING A SEMI-CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION AND SECUREDCOMPLETELY AROUND THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF SAID TUBING.